#1 Duke University, Durham, N.C. from 80 Best Colleges for Food in America for 2016 (Slideshow)

80 Best Colleges for Food in America for 2016 (Slideshow)

Duke has locations on campus serving fare that sounds more suited to a fine-dining restaurant than a college dining hall, such as pan-seared diver scallops with a basil pistou, carved-to-order porchetta with salsa verde, and gnocchi and sage au gratin. Don’t feel like leaving your bed all day? Don’t you worry, because there are eateries on Duke’s campus that will deliver meals right to your dorm. At Duke, there are a total of 59 dining options for students on the meal plan, including 35 on-campus locations ranging from coffee shops to outposts of local favorites, 17 local restaurants that deliver to anywhere on campus, and seven food trucks. Whatever you want, wherever you want it, you can get it at Duke. But even with all these delicious options available, you’re still going to be eating healthily. Duke Dining partnered with the on-campus nutritionist to create the Balance Your Plate program, which is designed to help students build a healthy and delicious plate of food. The Chef’s Chatter series focuses on one healthy food item a month and how to cook, eat, and enjoy that food in many different ways. Oh yeah, and Duke Dining holds more than 60 events every year, with each month featuring a large-scale event like the ever-popular Cruise-Themed Dinner. Do you see anything wrong with this dining program? Because we don’t. We didn’t in 2015 either, yet the school continued building. Now, with the West Union renovation (called “the most cutting-edge service that has ever been attempted in a university dining environment” by the school) having been completed just in time for the 2016–2017 school year, there are 13 additional spots for Duke students to choose from.